Chiroptophobia
by AboveReality
Summary: Fear makes you faster, stronger and your senses sharper. Fear is like a drug, always present and never leaving you alone. It could come up like a flame or be extinguished like one. She feared him, his darkness. But that made her even more determined to kill him. Set in Arkham Origins. Very slight AU. Violence. CANCELLED. CAN BE USED AS AN IDEA.
1. Chapter 1

**My first ever Batman fiction. I tried some drabbles when the series of Christian Bale came out, but always scraped them after one chapter. It did not feel right at the time. Now I have a love in the Arkham series, liking that Batman universe the most because of its rawness.**

 **This story starts in Arkham Origins and I will see where it goes from here. There will be slight tweaks here and there, but the fic will follow the main story line. It was inspired by Bloodborne's trailer song: Hunt you down by Ruby Friedman.  
**

 **The most difficult part of starting a new story is the beginning, so bear with me through the first few chapters as I set an atmosphere, storyline and introduce you to the character. Feedback on how to improve is always appreciated! So no: UGH THIS SUCKS! Because I can't do anything with it. Why does it suck if it does?**

 **Reminder; English is not my mother-language. I try to re-read the chapters before I post and sometimes throw a grammar check at it. But I am human and some things will get in there unnoticed. Forgive me in advance.**

 **Now enough babbling and enjoy!**

IMPORTANT. DUE TO LACK OF DEMAND FOR THIS TYPE OF STORY IT IS CANCELLED. FOR THOSE WHO WANTS TO GET IDEAS I WILL KEEP THIS UP AS A CONCEPT/DRABBLE. 

* * *

_Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 01

" _GCPD, has once again found another gang tied up and served to them. They referred themselves as the Wet Bandits, active in human- and drug trafficking. Witnesses claim it was once again 'A man looking like a bat' who did GCPD's job for them. It has been third gang these six months that this Man-Bat or Bat-Man interfered with and seized their scandalous activities here in Gotham City. I wonder what we see next time. Back to you Scott._ "

With the press of a button the TV screen snapped to black. Taking all light and that damned annoying voice of the reporter with it. It made her head ache.

Evelyn pinched the bridge of her nose and laid down the remote on the coffee table in front of her, finding a bare spot amidst all the files and notes scattered across the surface. Some were blurry pictures, others hastily scrabbled, but all were about this 'Batman' as the public wanted to call this man. This vigilante.

He never seemed to kill, only to maim. By the time GCPD would come along or anyone else get a good look of him he would've already disappeared in to thin air as it were. But there was one pattern that never ever seemed to change; he was only active at night.

Evelyn rose from her couch, stretching and was in a few paces across the room of her tiny apartment in downtown Gotham and stared out the window. The skies already turned pink and gold, signaling the Sun's downfall into the horizon.

Absentmindedly she plucked something from the back pocket of her dark jeans and let her green eyes fall down do it. It was playing card size, white with a black skull depicted on it. On the back was a simple address and time. She had found it shoved underneath her front door yesterday. Evelyn still had to decide which was more unnerving; the owner of who this card belonged to, or that he apparently knew where she lived.

Huffing to herself she threw the card on the table while passing by. She had to get ready.

* * *

 _Evelyn stood in an empty warehouse, just outside one of the many circles of light that illuminated the echoing room. She had her rifle in hand, pistols at her hips and calculated the risk what kind of damage a grenade would do in this environment. Not that she would do it out of the blue, but it the situation called for it, it was nice to know what to expect._

 _In total there were nine of them. None of them really talked, some conversed albeit platonic but most of them, like her, just stood there. Waiting for.. something to happen. What, no one seemed to know._

 _Evelyn swallowed. The strange brew of tension and anxiety reared up its head in her gut. Not much, but enough that she knew that it was there. She guessed something to do with the anticipation and the people that accompanied her, and forced her shoulders to ease a bit and parted her legs just a bit, easing down her gravity. The ceramic armor silently following her body._

 _From behind her reflective black visor she examined each and every person in her company. A few stood out mainly the large guy with the wrestler mask, a heavily armed one in armor that almost matched her own except the colors, but the one that was truly terrifying to behold was a seemingly human-crocodile hybrid._

'Stay away from that one Ev,' _she had reminded herself.  
_  
 _There were also two women, one with a blond pixie cut and strange eyes, who paced around grunting and sighing in boredom. The other with jet black hair, poise straight and hands clasped behind her back, who seemed just an inch shorter than Evelyn. Who stood at 5'8._

 _Her CPU quickly found and downloaded everyone their dossiers, bringing them up on her visor. Though she scanned through them, for the sake of knowing, her mind remained sharp. The brute that she identified as Bane, grunted in frustration._

 _"How long do we have to wait? I am tired of this!"_

 _"Soon Bane," Deathstroke almost soothed. His baritone voice was chilling, sending shivers down Evelyn's spine. "Patience is a virtue."_

"My patience _is wearing thin," Copperhead hissed between her teeth. A Spanish accent clearly laced in her words._

 _Before any bickering could start, everyone silenced at another set of footsteps that did not belong to one of their own. It was hasty, hurried and plump man with a ski mask over his head entered the circle of light, pushing a cart ahead of him. On the cart there were envelopes with a black skull depicted on them and their code names. The moment the cart was apparently where it should be, the man turned and hurried away. Almost running._

 _Evelyn took the one with her code name on it;_

 **Dutch**. _She could not help but smirk a bit._ _It was not because she was actually Dutch, but more her manners. It was never too much, but always enough, direct and clean. The moment you were her target, you knew it._

 _She scanned the envelop with avail; there were no fingerprints on it whatsoever, and opened it. It contained a letter, vague pictures and documents containing information about one person. Or legend if you wanted to look at it that way._

 _ **'You have been contracted by Black Mask to kill the Batman. First one to succeed receives 50 million dollars. Good luck.'**_

* * *

Evelyn shook her head, clearing out the memories of yesterday night. The moment everyone had read their letter the tension had spiked, but she managed to get out. Sadly everyone survived. She had to do something about her grenades, apparently they were not strong enough.

" _Police and emergency services are urging are urging Gotham residents to stay of the roads and remain in their homes due to a severe winter storm-_ " Evelyn shut off the news transmission with a tap on her gauntlet interface.

Wind blew around her and the dark sky above her almost seem to darken even more, though it was not possible. It did not obscure her vision, thank the heavens for military grade night vision. Here and there were snowflakes, but as time progressed the flocks thickened.

"I wonder what the situation is like," someone behind her muttered.

"I don't want to know, I just hope I can go back to Sarah after this," another said. Sounding uneasy.

There was the sound of someone tapping on another's Kevlar armored shoulder. "You will go back to your wife Scott, I'm sure of it."

"We'll be quick and clean. Contain the prisoners, save civilians," a third one spoke. Judging by his voice and cool demeanor he was more experienced. "Only kill if you have to. You listening Dutch?"

By the mention of her codename Evelyn turned and shot him a look over her shoulder. Officer Lawson stared at her, his grey eyes stern and his brows furrowed.

"I'm _always_ listening, Lawson," she murmured.

The blue LED lights that had lit up on the respirator, died when she stopped talking. It was high tech; filtering Gotham's polluted air into almost pure oxygen. It could process almost all gasses, making her unsusceptible for it. The one thing it could not take away was the metallic edge her voice took when she spoke. The respirator was fused with her black visor, which extended into a heavy plated helmet shielding her entire head. At the neck there were ceramic plates layered upon one another to allow movement.

Lawson was a senior, reaching almost 50 but still fit enough to be part of Gotham's Quick Response Team, also known as QRT. He held the rookies in line, fulfilling a mentor position most of his time at the sideline. Except when something major happened.. then his expertise on the ground provided the reassurance and guidance other officers needed. She did not bother to get to know by on first name basis. She didn't even know his first name.

Evelyn did not waist any more of her precious attention to the banter of her colleagues. In the distance she could see the lights of Blackgate prison. It was faint, but as she zoomed in she could see the outlines of the buildings that grew sharper after each second and passing mile. A smirk tucked at the corners of her lips when the police radio in her CPU cracked to live. The blades of the helicopter above their heads failing to drown out the sound.

 _"All available units dispatch to Blackgate Prison. I repeat, all available units dispatch to Blackgate Prison. Commissioner Loeb is being held captive. I repeat, Commissioner Loeb is 701."_

Her index finger briefly brushed the trigger of her rifle, itching.

Batman would show up. She just knew it.

* * *

 **Like it?  
Please review!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter on the same evening because I'm fast and furious.. just kidding.**

 **Evelyn's armor inspiration was coming from Arkham Knight and Deathstroke. Further detailed descriptions will be avoided after chapter 3 because I want you to use your imagination.**

 **Have I mentioned that I just LOVE plot bunnies?**

 **Remember: English is not my mother-language. Fault and grammar mistakes can occur.**

* * *

 _Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 02

Those bastards were everywhere.

The crazies ran loose, thugs of Black Mask killing everything for sport. It was chaos.

GCPD and the remaining prison guards had their hands full on trying to contain the prisoners who run amok. Some were sane enough to stay in their cells and wait.. hope that all the slaughter and brutalities ended.

With a grunt Evelyn butted a man unconscious with the hard end of her rifle. She snarled from beneath her visor, they were getting nowhere.

"Captain Gordon," Lawson called out and jogged past her to the man. He had brown hair with streaks of grey and blue eyes that regarded him coolly.

"Officer Lawson," Gordon replied. He first nodded to his colleague, then Evelyn and the rookies behind her, acknowledging their presence.

"Situation's gone critical, Captain. Black Mask is taking commissioner Loeb to the execution chamber. He is releasing Julian Gregory Day."

"What? How do you know this?"

"Through me."

Lawson shot her a look from behind his shoulder. Evelyn took a step forward and cocked her head at Gordon. Her rifle was at ease, but her stance was tense. Ready.

"I managed to eavesdrop on some of the thugs before taking them out," she said. It was a half-truth, because she also managed to tap into their communications.

Batman was also here.

"Whatever they are planning, I can reach the chamber if you can secure the prisoners I leave. I'm fast."

Gordon nodded. "Good plan, Lawson you go with her."

Evelyn glared at him, though he could not see it. "I am faster on my own."

Gordon gave her an authoritative glare back. "Lawson is going with you. He is experienced and two are better than one."

 _'He's in charge now Ev, listen.'_

"Fine," she finalized his orders. "Let's move," Evelyn directed to Lawson. Who nodded and was at her heels in an instant as she broke into a fast jog.

For a moment they encountered no one, just slumped thugs of Black Mask and the occasional prisoner. All unconscious. They entered some kind of atrium that hosted multiple levels of prisoners. She could hear them yelling above here. Whether it was directed to them, each other or just because she did not know nor care.

"Who did this?" Lawson breathed heavily and checked a man's pulse who was tied up in an uncomfortable position.

After confirming the man was still alive he walked up to her, his grey eyes set worried and look around. There were marks of bullets scraping the thick concrete walls of the prison, but the thugs held no guns. They were all dumped on a gigantic pile, away from them.

"I can only think about one person," Evelyn announced. Just feeling faintly sweaty instead of exhausted like Lawson. His age seemed to have caught up with him.

"The Batman?" He inquired as she punched a four-digit code that opened the security door in front of them. She merely shrugged.

"Who else?"

" _To all Deathrow inmates; please remain calm and stay in your cells. If anyone has further information about Black Mask and his whereabouts come forward and you will be rewarded._ "

"Guess Gordon is desperate," she muttered under her breath.

"Or taking measures," Lawson snapped and glared at her. Evelyn ignored his hostile demeanor, she had other things to think of.

Finally there were voices and they both huddled against a closed door. Her auditory sensors picked up and amplified to sound to a normal volume, whereas Lawson only heard murmurs from behind the thick and enforced heavy steel door.

"What are they talking about-" he stopped talking when Evelyn raised her finger.  
"All I ever wanted is to rip that switch!" An unknown voice said with faint amusement. "But it's Christmas Eve and he's the calendar man. Bring him in!"

There was a lot of stumbling, stammering and some damn heavy footfalls. Something was thrown on the ground, shrieking.

Evelyn pressed on something at the side of her visor and instantly her vision reddened. She gaze at the door, a dozen presences behind it lit up like a Christmas tree.

"What's all this about, Sionis?" She heard Loeb stammer, the smaller figure. A growl was in response and something enormous hauled up the little man. His claws tightly on his shoulder.

 _'Killer Croc. The bastard. He hopes to get Batman this way to.'_

"Haven't I always come through for you?"

The man, who she could now identify as her contractor Black Mask, chuckled. But it was joyless.

"You may have once Gillian, but things have changed. It is time to start with a clean slate, and you are not on it."

His men howled and laughed, almost cheering Loeb on as he was hauled towards the gas chamber that was readied for the serial killer. This was timed, convenient. Someone knew that Julian Day was going to be gassed and Black Mask had taken his shot.

"They are putting him in the gas chamber," she revealed to Lawson, informing him of the situation, who stared at her in shock.

"Why are we sitting here for then?" He hissed fervently. "We have to save him."

"No, we are not," Evelyn coldly said. She ignored the laughter and the dying screams of the commissioner, feeling no sympathy for the man.

"He is _our_ commissioner!" Lawson spat. "You can take them out, swift and clean. I know you can." Evelyn rose on her feet, stance straight and tense. Lawson immediately followed her action. She suddenly turned on her heels and slammed him down on the ground with the butt of her rifle. Lawson gasped and instantly reached for his head. Blood coated his fingers.

"I won't waste my bullets on those scum, and the commissioner can rot for all I care. His depths to Black Mask are paid."

"W-what, what are you talking about?"

Lawson's grey eyes grew wide and he scurried back until he hit the wall when the armored door opened with a hiss and a few metallic clicks here and there. Evelyn casted Black Mask just a glance, who seemed unsurprised with her presence.

"I wondered when you showed up, Dutch."

Evelyn could not help but to smile. Her amusement briefly hinted in her metallic sounding voice. "You think I would not pass up this opportunity, did you?" She shot Killer Croc a glare who just grinned.

"You are one of us! What are you doing?" Lawson shrieked. His usually stern, calm grey eyes now shimmering with panic and drawing attention to himself. Evelyn pulled out a pistol and aimed it between his eyes.

"My job-" and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Fear was always a big motivator for her strength. Fear makes you faster, stronger and your senses sharper. Fear is like a drug, always present and never leaving you alone. It could come up like a flame or be extinguished like one.

Evelyn felt the small flicker of fear in her every time she donned her Kevlar bodysuit and her ceramic armor. Every time she felt its tendrils curl around her very essence. Not very strong or powerful, but the anxiety was always there beforehand. When she fought, it was gone, but it could always snap back into an instant.

The sound of Black Mask's helicopter grew more distant after each passing second. From the other end of the door there was a fight brewing between that notorious Batman and Killer Croc. Her tongue tasted the sweat from her upper lip in anxiety. She felt her heart rate increase and adrenaline flooding her veins. It heightened her senses.

"I came as fast as I could. What's going on?" James Gordon breathed hard as he came at her running, a group of QRT following him. "Lawson's-"

"Dead, yeah I know," she finished and sighed, feigning the sound of defeat in her voice. "They got to him." There was a slight, comforting pat on her shoulder to reassure her.

* * *

 _Lawson's body had slumped down instantly, his glassy eyes wide-open of fear and something akin to surprise. Blood ran down from the hole in the center of his forehead down over his face, leaking into his eyes like tears. The wall behind him was sprayed red with chunks of brain matter here and there. As gravity finally got a hold of him, his head fell forward, chin to chest, and revealed a gaping hole._

 _Evelyn turned to Black Mask who almost seemed to appreciate her work._

 _"I figure you are not very loyal to the GCPD, I take it?"_

 _"Depends how your definition of_

 _loyalty is, Black Mask. Either way it has to look like a fight broke out.." She did not continue._

 _His eyes glinted at her from underneath the skull-like mask that was in sharp contrast to his white striped suit. Gloved hands grasped the hem of his suit and he straightened his back, she could almost feel the smile radiating off of him. He did not care for his thugs; they were merely tools to him._

 _"Do what you must."_

 _Without another thought or word spent Evelyn aimed her pistol to several of his henchmen, and pulled the trigger three more times._

* * *

"Killer Croc is fighting someone," she informed him. "I figured waiting for back-up was the most sensible thing to do." Gordon nodded in agreement, he held up his fist in silence to the rest of the squad behind them. They waited for just the right moment.

The crash of something hard against the ground was there cue and with a strong kick the door to the roof flew open. With her rifle poised she began to shoot, faking to aim at Killer Croc who barely dodged her bullets and managed a few hits on Batman, the regular bullets skipped right off his suit, leaving barely a scratch.

"Hold your fire! I SAID HOLD YOUR FIRE," Gordon shouted.

Clenching her jaw in frustration she released her trigger finger but kept her rifle aimed at the so-called Batman. It was one thing to see him on pictures, or hear about him, but another to actually see him with her very one eyes. Quickly she initiated her CPU to scan whatever it could pick up. Type of body armor, weapons, communications. He truly looked like a bat. He was tall, at least 6'2, broad, dark and screaming danger at her. Every part of him was covering in armor, except the lower portion of his face that was a strong set of jaws.

Evelyn felt that familiar tendril of fear in her, stirring around in her gut and she let it. She merely spared Killer Croc a glance behind him, who was battered and bloodied by Batman's onslaught and maybe even a few of her bullets, but she did not care about him. Her prize was right in front of her in her crosshairs. She only needed to pull the trigger.

"Permission to fire, captain," she whispered for only him to hear. Her frustration and anger of being bound by the law only grew more when he shook his head wordlessly before focusing his attention back to the vigilante.

"Hold it right there," Gordon almost growled, coming down from his high that his Batman figure actually existed. "I'm taking you in."

The Dark Knight regarded them fearless, his shadow impossibly long in the bright spotlights above them, making him more unworldly than he already was as he pressed something on his gauntlet and stepped back to the edge of the building where the gate was ripped clean off.

"Not tonight," and he jumped.

Before she could think that he had fallen down to his death on the cliffs the roaring of a jet was heard above the howling wind. It rose up from where he jumped. Gorgeous, black and definitely military grade.

She watched it fly away, her bounty of 50 million dollars with it. Anger brew and curled around inside of her as Gordon barked around orders, the QRT team listening to his beck and call and secured Killer Croc. Albeit with some difficulty due to his size and weight.

Snow melted slowly on her ceramic armor. Her CPU brought up some information it had managed to scan up on her visor; except that he was also wearing some sort of enhanced ceramic armor, what kind she was not aware of, its scans were surprisingly fruitless. It added more to her frustration.

' _He must have something on him that disrupts my scans,_ ' she fervently thought and marched away.

Despite her anger and failed attempt, she now finally got a taste of him and _that_ spiked up her determination. He wasn't a senseless lawyer or bureaucrat that needed to die. He was an actual challenge that she had to work for.

It only made her more driven.

* * *

 **Like it?  
Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Damn FFNET being down for a whole day.. Atleast I can update now :) Evelyn finally fights Batman!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 03

With a huff she set down the box she held in her arms. It wasn't heavy, just difficult due to its size. Turning around she walked back down the hall way, down a set of stairs and outside to her parked car; an old black Peugeot. What type or year she did not remember, but it worked and brought her to the places she needed to be at daytime. Plus, it helped her move her things.

Evelyn Palmer had different apartments throughout of Gotham City, all on different names. All of them were simple with the basic stuff with no personal items or something the like that could trace her. Instead she kept her clothes and what she needed in boxes. Important documents were in a strongbox rigged to explode when someone would try and force it open, instead of carton. Her armor was at a special vault she had built behind the wardrobe in each and every apartment by some special firm. The lock was voice printed.

The card that she had found three days earlier had unsettled her thus she scheduled her moving day a little earlier, not wanting to wait for next month. Due to her line of job and her own paranoia, Evelyn moved places every two months.

Her neighbors were set to believe that she travelled a lot for her work. That was some sort of true if you think about it.

Evelyn set down the last box down on the ground and started to unpack. After an hour she sat down in front of the small T.V. in her living room, a plate of cold pasta enriched with smoked salmon on her lap.

 _"No man is an island Bruce, and that for two years now! You can expect me to believe that Gotham's most eligible bachelor is still celebrating Christmas on his own?"_

 _The annoying blond news reporter almost stuck her microphone straight into Bruce Wayne's face. Who took a step back, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. He looked down at his watch._

 _"You just ran out of time," he merely said, turned and walked away. Leaving the news reporter behind, baffled with her red-lipstick covered mouth opening and closing like a fish._

Evelyn snickered, her plate already half empty as the reporter stammered trying to save her own hide. She could just not understand the fascination certain type of people had with celebrities and wanted to know every single bit of their personal life. Yes, this Wayne character had the looks, the personality and the money, but it wasn't because of him but because of his parents that he was part of Gotham's 'elite'. Heck, he probably owned half the city.

She held no hatred towards him, but she wasn't fond of him either.

She turned the blasted thing off, wondering why she even turned it on and dumped her plate in the sink. Making a note to self to not forget to do the dishes.

Then she went to the bedroom and stripped down until she was in her pale birth suit. After pulling on a tightly fitting sports bra and smooth underwear. She grabbed and hoisted herself into the skin tight Kevlar meshed bodysuit. It was the under layer of her armor. If that could not protect her, at least there was another layer that could potentially stop any bullets aimed to harm or kill her.

Evelyn leaned forward towards the closet and tapped it twice with the knuckles of her index finger. A small display showed up. She took a deep breath.

"Liberty."

The display disappeared and for a moment nothing happened. Then, with a scraping sound of wood, the panel opened, revealing a small room where her armor and weapons were neatly presented.

Like it was meant to be, her armor fit on top her second skin of Kevlar perfectly. It were in total of six loose pieces that ensured minimal effort into putting it on because it was damned heavy. There pieces for both her legs, arms, torso and her helmet. After putting on one part, it practically sealed itself, lacing together so minimalize weak spots.

Finally she combed back the locks of her blond hair keeping her fringe out of her face with a thin black hairband that was tight, but not too tight that it would hurt. She once tried a wig cap, but that only further itched her and was absolutely _hell_. The rest she would stuck behind her ear since it was a bob that reached just below the jawline and wasn't majorly irritating.

The helmet locked into place. She could hear a few buzzes and wheezes as the CPU in her suit turned online. With a flickering her visor turned on. After running a quick diagnostics she grabbed weaponry. Yesterday she had dedicated her evening into getting better grenades. After throwing around a few threats here and there, they were delivered that same evening.

She locked two of the baddies on her belt, feeling slight anticipation and hope that she would get to try them out tonight. Only time would tell.

* * *

Steve sat on his throne, feeling like a king with his Christmas hat on. He often imagined that he was, a king on a throne of gold as far as the eye could reach. He grinned at his sidekicks as the gang they had been dealing with approach them. Suitcase in hand and ski masks on. Steve did not bother wearing a ski mask. He had his Christmas hat.

"Guys!" He spread out his arms invitingly and laughed. Then clasped his hands together and wrung them.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?" He began but stopped, acting if something popped up in his head. "Wait, I already know," and snapped his fingers.

James, a large dark-skinned guy and one of his trusted mates, took a few steps forward and unlocked the suitcase he had balanced on his left arm and revealed the contents to the group. It was high tech weaponry.

Steve shifted smugly on his throne, the little white ball at the end of his Christmas hat dangling with the motion. Almost hitting the side of his head. One of the member threw a suitcase at him that he caught in his lap.

Anticipation set in and he licked up the sweat on his stubbly upper lip, ignoring how it irritated the tip his tongue. He would shave later. He felt eyes of his fellow Penguins on him and unlocked the suitcase.

"Let's see if you have been naughty or nice- oh!"

Steve laughed, mimicking Santa Clause for a moment when he eyes had set on the content of the suitcase. So this was how 50.000 dollars looked like in hard cash, stacked in a suitcase. He never felt richer.

' _Perhaps, if I play this smart I can set some money on the side,_ ' a little voice in his head whispered.

"Thank you for the transaction! I am sure The Penguin will be plea-"

His words were interrupted by something big, black and bad crashing down on them. Before his guys could even raise their guns Batman was already on them. Knocking them over, sharing punches. Steve jumped up from his throne and bolted, hoping to get away on noticed in the chaos but a boot in his back that launched him on the floor told him that he failed.

He was hauled by his collar and thrown against the throne, wood shattering around him by the impact. His grip on the suitcase lost as it was tossed in the air by the momentum, his Christmas hat flying along with it, and rained down cash.

Steve skidded on the hard wooden floor but shot up in a sitting position despite the protest in his back. Splinters dug into the palms of his hands as he tried to scoot backwards, his heart racing in his ears as adrenaline was flushed through his veins. He was in a fight or flight mode. Normally Steve would use his fists, but his sight of Batman striding towards him made his survival instincts kick in.

"Get away- AH!"

Before he could even think about crawling up in his feet, Steve was grabbed by the neck and hauled upwards. Batman's grip was so strong that he started to see stars and his feet twitched because of the loss of ground underneath them.

"Where's The Penguin!" Batman roared. His grip intensified, causing Steve to gasp and he felt he was being raised higher. His hands grabbed and clawed at Batman's forearm, but it was some kind of armor he could not even dare to think of damaging.

"I. Don't. Know," he managed to choke out.

"Where. Is. The Penguin," the frightening Dark Knight yelled again. It took a while for Steve's brain to process it because he was busy on not dying. He felt a haziness enter his head and black splotches appeared on his vision as he tried to focus.  
"I.. swear."

Steve's voice was just a wheeze and with that frightening Batman being the last thing he saw, he passed out. Sure of it that he died.

But the strange light at the end of the tunnel everyone spoke of did not happen. Instead Steve felt cold, icy to the bones and wind lapping around him, trying to get a hold of his body.

"WAKE UP!"

Steve startled and gasped, oxygen filling his lungs and flailed around to discover that he was hanging upside down. He looked down, or was it up, to his feet and screamed at the sight of Batman holding his ankle. Fear gripped his intestines so hard, Steve almost had the urge to vomit, but his screaming was in the way.

"Time to talk. Where is Cobblepot?!" Batman roared and shook him a bit, causing Steve's stomach to lurch again.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Steve sobbed. "Let me go!"

"If you insist."

A rush of air blew away the tears from Steve's eyes as he fell down. Something strapped to his ankle suddenly broke his fall with a painful tug and he swung, side to side carried with the wind. The Christmas tree below him having closed on him significantly.

Then he was hauled back up and dread started to make his face as white as parchment.

"Why me, oh please Lord why me?" he prayed and blabbered in his fear. Steve felt phone rang in his pockets, signaling that he got a message. With a quick sweep it was knicked straight off him by this.. this lunatic!

"Please! Stop! Stop! I'll talk!" Steve screamed. His usual calm and arrogant demeanor now reduced to begging. "I'll tell you anything you want to know-!"

"Too late, I already have what I need."

And with that Steve was dropped again, his screams tearing from his throat until it almost bled. He stopped when landing in the Christmas tree, crashing into it, tearing the branches and decoration with his weight and momentum until he was stopped by a particular large one.

Steve wheezed and breathed. Whilst he was trying to comprehend that he survived the fall he emptied his bowels. Perhaps he needed a career change.

After a while he managed to get down the tree and stumble across the street. He needed to remember where his car was, but his head was spinning.

"God damn it, that motherfucker," he cursed and paused for a moment. Just when he halted his stride something crashed into him from behind, straining his back even more than it was. Surely he would be black and blue the next morning.

Like he had done so many times beforehand, threatening people in orders of The Penguin, he was now the victim. The familiar feeling of the nuzzle of a gun pressed against the side of his head, forced him to keep his cheek pressed to the ground. A knee buried itself in his back, preventing any kind of movement.

"Where is Batman?" A metallic voice hissed at him. It seemed feminine but it was hard to pin point it without seeing the owner of the gun.

"Oh my god, not again-" he stopped when the nuzzle pressed harder against his head.

"I will not repeat."

Afraid of repeat and because his life was already dragged through the muck Steve wasted no time. "He's going to the Final Offer, a large cargo ship in Gotham Bay."

"Why?"

"Because of my boss- Hell, I don't know!" He yelled in response. His voice cracked.

The one behind him seemed to pause and he felt the weight on his back move a bit. This could be his chance! With a deep breath and an enormous ounce of strength he pushed himself up, forcing the person behind him to take a few steps back. He turned, ready to throw a punch but in an instant everything went black.

* * *

Evelyn watched the man slump down on the ground and sighed, holstering her pistol.

 _'Why did he have to do that? Than it wouldn't be necessary to shoot him,'_ she thought heavily and ignited the jets below her feet to give her a jumping boost. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. With a few takes she was on top of the buildings and half jogging, jumping and aided by the jets she skipped the rooftops towards the harbor.

Zooming in she could see the ship there, and unless she could fly, she would not be able to get there without swimming. Movement caught her eyes and there he was. Big, stealthy and taking out The Penguin's men one by one before entering the ship. He was fast and clever, she could give him that.

But she was better.

Decided what to do; Evelyn jumped down from her vantage point and into the cold water. On impact the shells in her armor closed, preventing water to leak in and her jets were activated. They propelled her like a torpedo just below the surface. Thank the gods that the ship was anchored.

She stopped when she reach the hull and with a gigantic booster she was launched out of the water. With a grab she managed to get a hold of the rail, her gauntlets never losing their grip despite the water seeping and dripping down.

Her boots thudded silently on the deck as she scooted past the unconscious thugs and sneaked inside. With a few taps her visor turned red and past all the bodies of the thugs she could see the bright moving splotches of people. One was slowly approaching, apparently not part of the group. She recalculated her visor and locked on it.

"Damn it," she cursed. It was Deathstroke.

She stood across the arena where unconscious thugs littered the floor when she saw Deathstroke managed to get a hold on batman and hoisted him up in the air. She aimed her rifle when he pulled out his sword and pulled the trigger when he was about to swipe it across Batman's throat, knocking the blade clean out of his hands.

Batman used this opportunity to cut himself loose and spread out his cape, gliding down onto the arena, Deathstroke followed. He stammered back, the bullets scraping of his armor when she fired at him. There was no way he was going to get her fucking kill.

Her hand reached to her belt and unclasped a grenade. She heard Batman and Deathstroke fighting, both getting hits but both fairly matched. At one point Batman even knocked off Deathstroke's helmet.

"Let's see what you are capable off, babe," she cooed. With a flick of her thumb the pin sailed through the air and she threw it straight into Batman's and Deathstroke's feud.

The blast almost threw her off her feet, but definitely made her stammer. The heat was a split second but incredibly intense. When it disappeared alarms rang and the fire extinguishers activated, Evelyn took that time to take a breath.

' _Note to self: do not use that indoors._ '

When the smoke cleared she noticed that Batman subdued a stunned Deathstroke, probably with the help of the grenade's blast and tied him up. Unfortunately he seemed unscathed despite that his cape was charred and smoking, probably having caught fire that was put out quickly. When he moved she jumped over the railing, landing heavily on her feet and aimed her rifle on him.

"Not so fast, Batman."

He paused in his stride and looked at her, the brief shimmer of recognition flashing in his eyes. He stood straight, but his arms were tenses and ready to attack if he needed to.

"Dutch." It was not a question, more of a statement of who she was.

Evelyn smirked though he could not see it. She suspected that he had gotten his hands on their dossiers. Though she knew there wasn't much on her file, except her accomplishments as a bounty hunter, she knew that she had a disadvantage because he probably already saw her in the company of the GCPD. Luckily not many people knew her there by person.

' _But Gordon does. I need to do something about him later._ '

"In the flesh."

"I thought you worked for GCPD?" There was something akin to accusation in his deep, gravelly voice. So he did truly recognize her from a few nights back.

"I do to a certain level, but a woman does need her freedom," she replied almost lightly and took a few steps towards him. Her rifle aimed at his face. He did not move backwards, only his jaw tensed.

Water slide down his mask, curving around the sculpted glaring eyebrows that made him more intimidating that just a smooth surface. Some droplets got caught in his stubble. Both of their armor were glistening in the spot lights above them, were it another setting one would almost call it romantic. Minus the guns and the whole 'I-will-kill-you' situation.

"Why have you accepted the contract?"

"You won't have any answers from me," Evelyn barked at him. Willing him to stop talking and wasting time. "Now die."

Watching Batman fight from a distance was a whole other thing than to be in an actual fight _with_ him. He was fast, brutal and dodging some of her bullets. Those that hit him clearly did some damage, but apparently not enough to actually maim him or bury into his suit. Multiple times she had to dodge and jump using her jets, because he came in so close that he interrupted her shooting.

She jumped back on the second level, balancing on the rail and reloaded with just a few clicks. When the magazine clicked she barely had time to dodge a kick aimed for her head. As she paced backwards on the rail, the soles of her boots squeaking on the surface, trying to keep him in the crosshairs and firing a rain of bullets at him, Batman was running after her on the second level trying to land a punch or grasp her legs.

Evelyn cursed when she felt her foot slip and threatened to fall over the edge. A strong grip held her ankle, preventing her. She grunted and kicked herself loose, falling on all fours back on the ground of the arena and _breathed_. Something heavy landed down behind her.

Barely having time to turn around a punch with his forearm landed on the side of her head, one of the spikes he had scratching the edge of her visor before it was pushed upwards by her rifle that she held with both hands and used as leverage. She quickly turned it and managed to butt him with the end of it in the neck, making him stammer just a bit.

She hunched to jump away again, but something caught around her ankle, causing her to fall backwards and on the ground. Batman jumped, his form impossible large with his battered cape flaring out terrifyingly as he landed down on her. The ground trembling with impact below her and time seemed to slow down at a snail's pace.

In reflex she thrusted forwards the nuzzle of her rifle and pressed it at the center of his forehead, stopping his further descend. His whole form blocked out the light from above her casting her form in darkness and giving his silhouette an eerie halo that made her stomach clench with fear.

She knew that he could not see her face due to her black visor and stared at a reflection of himself instead, but he was still glaring right into her eyes and she glared right back with a gritted jaw. There, below him with her gun pressed against his head she noticed for the first time that his irises were the brightest and most vibrant color of blue that she had ever seen. They were calculating, yet gleaming hard in something akin to anger but not quite the same. It was difficult to describe the intensity of his glare.

In a blink he managed to smack the rifle right out of her hands despite her tight grip and got a hold of her wrist. She lifted her hips, moving her legs in between them and with a roar of strength she kicked him in the stomach, lifting him. She turned her arms outwards at the same time, towards his thumbs so that he was forced to release. Reveling in the freedom Evelyn crawled on her feet and took out her pistols, shooting at Batman so that he was forced to shield himself.

' _Why won't he just give up!_ ' she aggressively thought. Her mind wandered to her final grenade.

Daring it and without thinking of the consequences she snatched it from her belter after holster one pistol, making sure to keep firing and dodging Batman to keep him busy. She flipped out the pen with her thumb like before and threw it.

The blast was even more intense up close. The shockwave hurled her against the wall, cracking the visor, but thank the gods of technology that her helmet was tough to crack. When she looked Batman was gone.

Almost through her ammo, flickering CPU and her body bruised and battered, Evelyn did not risk it to try and find Batman, hoping to finish him off. If he had been caught by the blast, she would have seen him or at least pieces. Yet he had vanished without a trace.

She escaped the boat, her jets struggling to propel her through the water. In an exhausted mess she crawled on shore, swearing at cursing. But there was a saying that kept her pride from cracking;

Live to fight another day.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**Too bad people don't like this kind of ficlet. Ahwell, keeps the mind busy!**

 **Enjoy for those who have reached this far I guess**

* * *

 _Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 04

Sionis, aka Black Mask, was discovered dead.

Evelyn had heard it when she opened up her communications to the GCPD's radio signals. Gordon thought it was The Penguin, but she did not share that train. All she now wondered about is who was going to pay here she finally succeeded in killing the Batman.

"I was so close," she hissed and slammed her fist on the table with force, ignoring the sharp sting of pain that shot through her arm as a result. The items on the table had rattled a bit.

Furiously she worked on her visor, replacing it with a new one and rewiring her system. Due to the damage here and there, some parts had gotten wet, but she wanted to avoid failure so she was rewiring her entire suit. New ammo had been delivered earlier and the jets in her boots were already functioning like it should be. Now it was just her visor and the CPU wiring, which was a tedious and head ache inducing work to do.

But finally, after almost a day she finished up and carefully placed the suits on its holder. She rolled up the sleeves of her dark red off-shoulder sweater and smiled at her own handiwork. Having an interest in computers and robotics surely paid off right now.

Evelyn was interrupted from her moment of victory when her laptop beeped. Hurriedly she closed off her closet, setting the lock in place and jumped on the couch, pulling her laptop on her lap. She answered the call.

" _Hey you monster! How are you?_ "

A grin etched on her face, making the wrinkles that started to faintly appear relax, when her eyes found almost identical ones on the screen. They belonged to her brother; Jake. The grin almost disappeared when she took in his appearance.

' _He's paler and sicker than before,_ ' she immediately thought.

"Hey ass for brain. Doing fine, what about you? How is the new chemo they are giving you?"

On the other end Jake shifted a bit in his hospital bed. She saw that he tried not to grimace, but failed miserably at it. The white sterile hospital gown that he wore had tilted up a bit, showing some angry burn marks due to the radiation treatment.

 _"It's more aggressive, but they say it will hopefully kill the cancer in my skin. I wonder where they suddenly got the money from, because they had said earlier that the insurance would not cover it,"_ he trailed off a bit.

Evelyn decided to steer away from the subject.

"Are you nauseous? Have you eaten anything? Do the nurses come and check you often, unlike last time.." She stopped when Jake laughed.

 _"No need to go all big-sister on me now Ev. I am doing fine, and after your last 'talk' the nurses come to check me every hour. Most of them do it because they need to but there is also one who seems to work a lot on this department.."_ he stopped and Evelyn could see him blushing a bit. She smiled.

"Sounds like a nice lady."

Jake nodded slowly. _"Yes, yes she is."_ Then he changed subject. _"How are you doing? All the way out there in Gotham City? I heard some rumors about some sort of vigilante or lunatic trying to reign in the crime there. He seems real badass."_

Evelyn hesitated and thought about her answer. "It's just a rumor Jake. It was just a loony who thought that he could be a superhero. Sadly he was killed pretty quickly by some thugs," she lied and paused for a moment. "He had good intentions."

Jake sighed and rubbed his forehead. _"Shame.. it seems like Gotham could really use someone in that kind of way. What about you sis?"_

She turned up one eyebrow. "What about me?"

 _"Ever thought about going all commando? You've been in the military and I know you are completely badass with a gun.. why stick with the GCPD?"_

Evelyn's mouth opened and closed for a moment, unsure what to say that would not reveal her intentions. "Never thought about it Jake.."

Her brother that was three springs younger than her nodded firmly. _"Perhaps you should, could be a nice career change."_ Suddenly he looked up and seemed hurried all of the sudden. _"Well, I got to go. Wish me luck! I speak to you soon!"  
_  
Evelyn managed to conjure a smile on her lips and waved. "Bye!"

And the screen went black.

With a tense jaw and firmly pressed lips she lifted her warm laptop of her lap and onto the coffee table in front of her, closing it. Sighing deeply she buried her face into her hands, surrendering to the headache and guilt for lying.

* * *

The next morning she dressed quickly, paying her mess of a hair little to no heed after a quick brush, put on some mascara and donned her GCPD coat. Today she would be working in the office for a change. Perhaps she could also find some more information about Batman, who knew.

The drive towards the office had been tedious and there were multiple times where she almost lost her cool. She took a deep breath when she parked and exited the car, and tried to clear her head as she walked up the steps, careful not to wrongly place her feet or slip on the ice.

Would be kind of uncool to trip and break your neck if you were a notorious bounty hunter.

The building was warm and cozy inside. She greeted some of her colleagues that she recognized by face but not by name, and took a mug of the sewer water they called coffee around her. The first sip made her grimace, but hey; it was better than nothing.

She threw her coat on her office chair and straightened her black bolero that was on top of her white blouse. Evelyn went for the neat and basic approach. Once in a while it was nice to feel like a human being instead of a killing machine.

When she sat down at her desk, first to check was her inbox which was stacked with documents; reminding her how long it had been since she had actually been here. Grimacing she subjected to her first task today; filing and recording all of the crime files that were stacked in her inbox. Including her own account of what happened at Blackgate among other cases.

She finished around lunchtime, and with her stomach growling like the engine of a Harley Davidson, Evelyn bee-lined towards the vending machine and ogled the numerous back of chips. What to take?

"You know, that's not really healthy. Careful you don't get fat," a voice said from behind her.

She turned and stared into the chocolate brown eyes of Scott, the one that was with her on the helicopter ride towards Blackgate. Evelyn tucked a blond strand behind her ear, ignoring how it flopped right back into its place due to its shortness and crossed her arms across her chest.

"So, you think I'm fat?" She asked with a serious expression. Scott stammered and his ears reddened.

"N-no! I just-" he stopped when a smile tucked at her lips. "You evil woman."

Evelyn shrugged at that and turned. Having made up her mind she chose the blue paprika flavored bag. The smell when she opened it made her stomach growl even louder and the taste of the chip was like heaven on her tongue. It was unthinkable that she could have lasted this long without paprika chips. How she did it only God knew.

"Is it good?"

"Heck yeah."

Not backing up his earlier statement Scott dropped some coins in the vending machine and took the same kind of chips. Evelyn regarded him in an amused matter. "Careful you don't get fat." The look that he gave made her snicker just a bit.

It was sad to know that he also had to go.. because of her.

Whenever she was out of her armor Evelyn felt like a totally different person. How she conversed with Scott and some of her other colleagues wasn't normally her nature, but when she stepped behind the doors of the GCPD headquarters her persona changed into someone who she actually wasn't. In the end it was all an act, but with a little bit of herself lost in it. Perhaps it was a wish of who she hoped to be, but knew she couldn't.

During the day Evelyn was keeping herself busy with some chores too appear occupied, but was in the meanwhile planning of Gordon's downfall. He needed to be gone, like everyone else that knew her and codename Dutch. For the sake of herself she needed to sever ties and there was only one way to make it permanent.

With a forged police report that took all day to conjure in hand she strutted through the hallways towards the Commissioner's office. Previous it had been Loeb who was sitting there, but now it was Gordon's seat of operations. He was now in charge of GCPD, all the more reasons for him to _disappear_.

A loud bang made her shoulders to twitch a bit, the muscles clenching and unclenching almost painfully in the fright. Some cops that passed by were startled too, but more extreme. One jumped, yelping.

The other laughed, calling him a wuss and that it was probably a burst pipe again.

"One more things that needs fixing in this fucking place," he complained as they passed by. Not sparing her once glance, nor did she.

Breathing through her nose Evelyn stopped in front of Gordon's office. Behind the murky glass where his name was written in thick and bolt letters she could make out two figures. One was obviously Gordon, the other was someone of shorter stature and judging by the tone of the voice it was a young woman. Evelyn could not help but to overhear.

"He's the worst kind of criminal!" Gordon shouted, his words muffled by the door. His silhouette paced through the room in a brisk manner. "The kind who thinks their actions are justified! Who act completely outside the system!"

"That's not true! The system is broken!" The younger woman shouted and marched through the door.

"Barbara, wait-!"

Evelyn barely had time to take a step back when someone pulled open the door with violence and almost barged through it. A teen, barely 18 and thus 10 years younger than her, managed to catch herself before barreling into Evelyn.

"Oh-! Sorry!"

She had dark red hair, pulled together in a high pony tail and a thick black rimmed glasses balanced on the bridge her nose, framing those same dark blue eyes that Gordon had. Evelyn immediately saw the resemblance. The girl was almost a head shorter than her and ran passed her, apologizing hastily and down the corridor. Evelyn's gaze followed her until she rounded a corner.

With a slightly raised eyebrow she turned to Gordon, who leaned heavily on the doorframe, the wrinkles of old age and worry edging deeply into his forehead. "Teens," he sighed and turned around, walking back into his office. He gave her a hand signal to follow so she did.

"Can't imagine," Evelyn murmured whilst slightly pursing her lips.

Discreetly she closed the door behind her and watched the former captain walk to his desk and dropped down into his chair. He gestured to the seat across from him.

"Please sit down."

Against her will, but wanting to cooperate Evelyn slowly sat down at the edge of the wooden chair across of him with the desk in between like a barrier. Gordon rubbed his forehead for a moment, probably fighting a headache and finally folded his hands together, resting them on the desk.

"So what do I have the honor of your visit Miss Palmer?"

Evelyn ignored that remark and placed the file on his desk for his eyes to see. She regarded him in a sternly, cool and professional. "I got leads of an important deal between Penguin and some other gangs. This could be our change to catch Cobblepot and question him about the murder of Sionis. I've read that he is the main suspect in the murder?"

"He is," Gordon murmured and paged through the file. His glasses glinting in the light at the edge of his desk. "When is this meeting supposed to be?" He asked and looked up, meeting her eyes.

"Tomorrow night, around 2100. In warehouse 43B at the harbor. I suggest arriving there just a bit later and try and catch them in the act."

Gordon's eyes fell back down to the file and paged through it some more in silence. Just when she thought that he saw right through her he closed it and nodded, handing her back the document.

"QRT will be there. Thank you Palmer, you're a wonderful asset to the team."

It sounded so heartfelt and true that Evelyn felt her insides curl, but crushed down the feeling of guilt before it managed to rear its head. She nodded and smiled just a bit to lighten up the mood. "We'll get the bastard, sir. I promise."

And with that she turned and left his office, the smile falling from her face.

When she thought that she could relax the intercom blared.

" _Priority one alert! All personal report to your department head. We need a head count, a lot of people unaccounted for! Unidentified intruder!_ "

Around her in an instant police officers ran around, getting ready. Gordon joined her at her side. Their eyes met briefly before he jogged off and started yelling orders. Evelyn guessed that they both had a suspicion who it could be.

* * *

Fuming and muttering Barbara was hunched down below a server, the blue light of her notebook illuminating her face, and unaware of the situation in the rest of the station.

' _He does not know what he's talking about!_ ' she thought angrily and pushed in some buttons harder than necessary. ' _I'll show him!_ '

The click and hiss of the door behind her made her look up, but the figure that was standing there she did not expect and gasped whilst jumping on her feet. She instantly closed her notebook and hid it behind her back protectively of it.

"Easy," Batman said immediately, his hands up in the air for a moment to show that he was no threat to her. "I just need access to the National Criminal Database," he said.

For a moment Barbara forgot her fear. She knew that he was true, all of her friends did not believe her but there he is! The one and only Batman standing in front of her. But managed to contain her giddiness and pointed at the server right next to her.

"It's uh.. right here."

She took a few steps back to get out of the way. Batman glanced her over, obviously noticing the notebook behind her back and.. was that a smirk?

"Your obviously spent a lot of time here."

 _'A bit too much according to some,'_ Barbara thought but did not voice it out loud. Her thoughts were running wild as she watched Batman crouch and plugged something familiar inside the server. Instantly her curiosity was peeked and she could not help but gasp.

"That is such a cool Pwnbox! You're bypassing the network's security, but you'll need to physically bridge the intranet to the external telecom wires if you want to uplink remotely," she babbled. Her inner nerd showing before she could stuff it back into the box.

Batman looked up to her, almost glaring as he stuffed back the Pwnbox in one of the pockets around his belt and stood up. It was almost like she was looking at her dad.. ugh she did not want to think about him.

"That amount of knowledge could get a young girl into a lot of trouble-" he began.

"They run under the building," she answered cheekily. Enjoying how Batman raised an eyebrow at her.. sort of.

"What does?"

Barbara had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Was he so slow or was she so fast?

"The telecom wires," '- _Duh_ '. "You can access them from the sewers."

Batman then turned around and started to walk away. In a split Barbara almost panicked, she still wanted to ask him things! This was her chance!

"Wait!" She almost yelled, stopping herself the very last second but it helped. He stopped and shot her a glance from over his large shoulder.

Suddenly Barbara felt almost bashful and looked at the ground, trying to stop her stammer under his gaze. The sudden nerd that blabbered on and on was now contained and here came her own shy and timid personality. When she realized that he was still waiting for her to say something, she took a deep breath.

"Why do you do what you do?"

Something flickered in his eyes, something she could not place and his answer was short and brought up a series of questions with it.

"Because I made a promise."

* * *

"Here, take this."

Evelyn was handed a gun, because she did not have any on her right now. Out of habit she checked the magazine – full. She and Gordon were on one of the lower levels of the building, heading towards the elevator to go to the server rooms. There had been movement there and it was not just Barbara, who claimed she was all by herself.

"You think he's going to be hostile?"

Gordon sighed, "I don't know." From behind she could see that his shoulders were tense as they walked to the elevator. He pressed the call button but the elevator arrived a lot sooner than they expected.

"What-!"

In a blink Batman grabbled Gordon, twisting his arm behind his back. Evelyn stepped back and aimed her gun right at him.

"Let him go!"

She could see the debate in Batman's eyes and flashing back on their previous fight Evelyn felt vulnerable without her armor, but then she thought about that he was not aware of who she was behind the visor. That gave her some level of confidence. His cape still wore the burn marks.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said almost apologetic and released Gordon. "But you have to stay out of my way. We are on the same side."

Gordon gritted his jaw. "On the same side? My side works within the law," he began, the volume of his voice increasing. "My side does not leave suspects with broken bones and missing teeth! We've earned Gotham's respect!"

"Permission to shoot, sir?" Evelyn said alarmingly, drawing Batman's eyes on her. He almost seem to have forgotten her.

"No, hold your fire! Lower your weapon."

Reluctantly and with gritted teeth she slowly did, but held onto it with both hands. Ready to raise it if necessary.

' _Please, give me a reason._ '

Footsteps ran down the staircase next to the elevator. A small squad with rifles turned around the corner behind her and aimed their guns at Batman.

"Commissioner Gordon, Miss Palmer, stay out of the line of fire!"

"No!" Gordon yelled and moved in between them. "Hold your fire!" The SWAT commander looked up from the visor of his rifle, alarmed and annoyed, but he obeyed. Gordon was in charge after all. "But if he moves," he slowly added and turned back his attention to the Dark Knight, "take him down."

"You've got nowhere to run," Evelyn warned. She could Batman gritting his jaw and teeth in frustration at this crossroad of wills and high coursing adrenaline.

"MOVE! I'm taking him down!" the SWAT commander yelled.

Suddenly smoke filled the room and something grabbed her by the back her neck and hauled her against the concrete wall right next to Gordon. Something big and black covered them and pressed them into the crook of the wall as bullets flew around the room, sketching off the walls.

Evelyn coughed, hardly breathing due to the smoke and confined space. Suddenly the weight was gone and when they turned and the smoke cleared up.. Batman was gone.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**Important announcement. Read first chapter AN.**

* * *

 _Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 05

"Are the bombs secure?"

One of the officers that approached them nodded, his face stern. "Yes, sir. We have also found a couple of unconscious henchmen of Black Mask, they are being transported to Blackgate right now as we speak."

Gordon firmly nodded. "Search the area for clues of what Batman was doing there, what he wanted. It could give us a lead."

"Yes, sir! On my way."

Evelyn sat on the tip of Gordon's desk, arms folded and her mind wandering. Bombs had been found underneath the building at the telecom wires. It had been an anonymous tip but judging by the unconscious thugs and what she knew of Batman's style, she was almost sure of it that it was him. The only question that remained is why he was down there and how?

Her green eyes trailed to Barbara Gordon, who sat in Gordon's chair and was engrossed by her notebook. It's blue light illuminating her face.

"Barbara," Gordon said sternly, causing the girl to startle a bit and close down her notebook. "I think it's time to go home."

The teen groaned and rolled her eyes. " _Why_? You didn't mind yesterday and the day before that?"

"School is starting in a week young lady, you have to do your homework and sleep in a proper bed. Do you want to risk failing this year like the last?" Gordon frowned at her, clearly using his authority on his daughter. She just shrugged at him, unfazed.

"Well, I'm _not_ going with the public transportation, that just sucks in this time of year and you know it."

Knowing that he did not have the time to bring his daughter home and get back, Evelyn decided to come to the rescue. She have had it anyway. "I'll take her home," she said and pushed herself off the desk.

"Thank you Palmer. Barbara get your coat."

With a groan the teen rose from her seat, notebook underneath her arm and stomped out of the office. In ten minutes tops Evelyn drove out of the parking lot and on to the road, facing Gotham's traffic jam with courage.. or stupidity. Anyways, it sucked.

Barbara had been silent the entire way, huddled in her coat despite that the heater was on. Neither of them talked or took the initiative. Evelyn just wanted to home, take a nap and get her suit ready for tomorrow night. Plus had other stuff to do than just talk, like keeping her focus on the road.

"Fucking maniac," she hissed when a car cut her off, forcing her to brake hard. She felt the car wanting to slip beneath her, but with a few minor corrections on the steering wheel she kept them on track instead of spinning and crashing into a streetlight.

"You're a better driver than my dad," Barbara muttered. Evelyn only huffed at that, but could not help but to smile a bit.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Barbara shift a bit in her seat, adjusting the safety belt just a bit so that it was comfortable. She looked like she wanted to ask her something.

"Shoot it."

Barbara turned to her, "Huh?"

"You look like you want to ask something, so shoot."

Evelyn could see Barbara look down at her lap, a bit flustered because she was read so easily. "Oh yeah, I forgot you were a cop for a moment," Barbara whispered, hinting at the training of officers to try and read people their emotions and body language. "I uh.. I was just wondering something."

Evelyn turned up one eyebrow but said nothing as she took a turn to the left and stopped in front of red traffic lights. Silently she ushered the girl to keep on talking.

"I wondered what you thought of Batman."

In surprise Evelyn her eyes widened just a bit, but she quickly relaxed and slowly let the car pull up when the light turned green above their head. Illuminating them eerily for a moment before they passed it.

"Why?"

Barbara shrugged and looked out of the window, "Why not?" She had replied. Her messy red hair almost fell out of the pony tail on the back of her head, but the girl did nothing to correct it. Obviously not caring about it or not noticing.

"I am not sure what to think of him," Evelyn finally said after a short moment of silence and parked them in front of a building that contained the address Gordon had given her. The building was aged, squished between others and certainly not what you would expect of a police Commissioner, though he had only received the title days ago.

"What's not to think?" Barbara countered sharply, her feistiness showing. "He is going for the bad guys, saving Gotham and trying to make the system right!" The teen sighed, her eyes falling to her lap. "If only my dad could look at him in another light."

Evelyn looked at the girl next to her, unsure what to do for moment. She was no parent and Evelyn wasn't sure if she ever wanted to be become one or be one. But still, the girl was still a kid, too good and too idealistic for this fucked up world. Acting on instinct Evelyn placed a hand on Barbara's shoulder.

She had expected the teen to shrug it off, but to her surprise she did not. Instead Barbara grasped her hand and smiled back up at her, whispering a timid thanks. Evelyn could not help but to smile back.

"Now off you go," she said, removing her hand and gesturing to the building. Barbara nodded, unfastened her seatbelt and got out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride."

Evelyn waited until the teen was indoors before she revved up her engine and steered her car back on the road. Facing Gotham's traffic head on once more.

The news of a bomb blowing up in Gotham's Merchant's Bank was the first thing that reached her the next day through her secured network. Apparently nobody knew who or what it had it had caused, only thing that was known is that there had been casualties.

How many would have died if no one would have found the bombs below the GCPD?

Evelyn was donning herself into her armor, meanwhile her mind could not help but to wander back to Barbara Gordon, daughter of her commissioner that was about to walk right into a trap in just a mere hour.

' _No. This is a necessary chain of events. It is for the better, Ev,_ ' she told herself and fastened on her helmet.

Her visor was working properly due to her own handiwork. Everything was online and ready. Methodical she closed off her apartment, setting down motion sensors that would give her an alert if anyone was trying to trespass into her home. She had the time to install it today and it gave a much more reassuring feeling when she jumped from her balcony to the roof of her building thanks to her jets.

It was raining, no- pouring. Thick fat drops glided down her armor and visor. When they were children she used to make Jake believe that the clouds were taking a leek when it rained. As a result he had period that he feared the rain, but when he grew older he called the bullshit in her story and finally got over it. Still, it had taken him a few years to be rational. Evelyn smiled at the memory.

Good times.

The snow a few days earlier had now almost completely melted and turned into mush partially by the rain. It made the rooftops extra slippery for her to run on and jump from rooftop to rooftop. She used all of her concentration not to trip or fall down. Breathing out to keep a level head, relief flooded her system when the warehouse came into view.

But as she got inside and rigged the building with explosives so that it would cave in on Gordon and the QRT, the familiar feeling of anxiety clenched around her stomach. What would happen if it went wrong, if she did not do it right? What if she backed out-.

' _No!_ ' she harshly thought. ' _You're doing fine. They will not stand in your way after this and you will be safe. Jake will be safe. You are doing all of this for Jake, remember that._ '

When she was finished, Evelyn waited from a safe vantage point, but close enough to watch and make sure everything happened like it should be. She could see Gordon step out of the car and a small squad that conveniently consisted out of Scott and a few other QRT member she knew. When everyone was inside she took out the remote device for the explosive and looked down at the angry red button.

One press and it would all be over. Just simply push the button. And she did.

The building ignited like fireworks. Bright, hot and spectacular. Firefly, the little pyromaniac, would have been proud if he had seen this, but she would not. Her eyes were fixed on the building, mouth pulled into a grim line and under the roar of the rain and thunder, it collapsed and ceased to exist.

After the initial ignition blast and having nowhere to go, most of the fire died out quickly partially due to the pouring rain. Jumping down she walked on top of the remains what used to be the roof, careful not to fall or trip. Her scanners looking for bodies, or at least DNA to proof that they were dead. Then she stopped dead in her tracks and kneeled.

A hand was protruding from the rubble, stark white and ghostly pale. A quick scan told her that it was Scott's. Her head snapped up when someone groaned in the distance.

Gordon opened his eyes when something heavy was lifted from him and oxygen flushed through his lungs, making him rake with coughs until there was the faint taste of copper in the back of his throat. Rain hit his face, icy and sharp. Making his skin sting.

He briefly remembered flashes, the bad feeling in his gut and then an explosion.. but the rest was all a blur like his vision right now because his glasses were missing. It made him almost as blind as a bat except for things up close since he suffered from severe myopia. On instinct he tried to move, to turn on his stomach but severe abominable pain almost prevented him from doing so. With gritted teeth and a huge amount of effort he succeeded, but then had to pause and take a few deep gulps of breath.

' _Please don't let me have internal bleeding.. please._ '

"I would not do that if I were you," a familiar metallic voice sounded.

In front of him he could see a pair of armored boots approach him, the image sharpening after each stride the person took. They stopped just half a meter in front of his face. He strained himself to look up, but the person who belonged to the boots was blurry, yet he recognized the gleaming armor even with his poor eyesight.

"You.. you've came just in time. Help me." He reached out for the boot, but Dutch took a step back, staying out of his reach.

"I will, but not in the way you obviously mean," she whispered. Her metallic voice was oddly calm.

"What?" He looked up again, but this time instead of her face, he stared straight into the barrel of a gun. "You," he began, his mouth opening and closing. His mind wandered to Barbara, probably vast asleep in her bed or behind that blasted notebook of hers. He would probably never see her again, but much to his own surprise he felt calm inside. No panic, no fear, just peace.

"Why are you doing this?" He managed to croak out after a few seconds.

"Because I have too," she murmured. Behind her, a bit off to the side he could see a shade. It grew and grew as it closed in with silence but incredible speed. "I am sorry Gordon."

The moment Evelyn was about to pull the trigger, to make an end to this she was knocked hard to the side. It felt like a brick wall barreled right into her. The pistol flew out of her hand due to the force, scattering across the concrete and disappearing into a crevice. Barely allowing the time, she rolled to the side avoiding a kick with just a hair's breadth. In her moment she got into a crouching position and jumped back to avoid a kick to the head.

Batman stared down at her, his eyes hard, jaw clenched and ready in a battle stance. One that she noticed is that his gauntlets were different than before. She pulled out her pistol, firing a few shots before being forced to jump back again with the aid of her jets.

He was on her tail, his movements quick, calculated and more brutal than before. Batman managed to land a hit on her chest, making her stammer. Quickly recovering the turn and with a jump kicked him in the head, harder and having more moment thanks to her jets. She fired a few shots at him, forcing him to shield and walk back. Then with a split second she turned and ran, fear gripping around in her intestines.

' _I was too late. Too late to pull the trigger. Why did I HESTITATE?!_ '

She dodged his dive for her and punched Batman with all her might on his jaw, then grabbed his head and rammed up her knee against his face or at least that was the plan. He managed to get a hold of her knee and pushed it down, an uppercut following to hit her below the jaw. Her respirator wheezed, some of the lights sparked dying eventually. Blood filled her mouth as she had bitten the insides of her cheeks.

Evelyn threw up her arms and managed to block some of the hits that followed before her wrists were caught and tore apart and down, the gun falling from her grasp because of his powerful grip. An armored knee came up, cracking her visor. A portion glass shattered in her face, most of it luckily falling out on the ground instead of embedding into her skin, but she still felt the cuts and bruises. With a twist she managed to escape his grasp and stumbled back, her breathing hard.

 **[ERROR ERROR]** Her screen partially read with her visuals red and flickering on the occasion of what was still attached to her helmet. It was odd and slightly disorienting to see the Batman in normal vision and through her red visor.

Above them the skies roared with thunder. She felt adrenaline rushing through her veins, flooding her system with every powerful beat of her heart that resonated in her ears. She could see Batman just a few steps away from her, breathing just as hard as she was but she was in the minority with having her visor cracked _again,_ both of her guns missing and her lack of sense to bring her rifle. She only had two grenades on her and they both knew he was the better fist fighter.

"Give it up, Dutch," he yelled above the roar of the storm. "You lost."

Her eyes shot to Gordon who managed to crawl on his feet, his hand pressed on his stomach. Even from this distance and through the rain she could see that he was bleeding profusely. If she was lucky he would die from his wounds. There was only one thing left to do. If Batman brought her in, her life would be forfeit and so would Jake's be. She would not be able to help him.

But If she died, her accountant would sell all of her belongings and the money would go to Jake.

Evelyn turned her attention back to Batman and shook her head, she could see his confusion.

"This is where you are wrong Batman."

Evelyn subjected herself for the fear, for him, the unknown and the future. She accepted it and that made her at ease. Her hand clutched around the grenade and before Batman could stop her she pulled out the pin.

"I am never a loser."


	6. Chapter 6

**Read chapter 1 AN. STORY CANCELLED. Damn it.**

* * *

 _Chiroptophobia_

Chapter 06

"I am never a loser."

In a flash something was thrown at her hand. She gasped when the thing almost break her hand, forcing her to release the grenade. Something hooked around her ankle and pulled her towards him in lightning speed and away from the blast.

He curled himself above her, shielding her from the blast that was short, heavy, yet too far to cause the damage that she had wanted to. Quickly Evelyn reached for the second on her belt, but he immediately tore it off her before her fingers could even graze it. It ticked on the concrete and she tried to reach it, only to be immobilized by Batman on top of her who twisted her arm around her back and braced a knee beside her hip.

"Stop, fighting!" He yelled as Evelyn trashed. She kicked back, managed to hit him in the back due to her own flexibility. She was _seething_. She would never stop fighting.

Then suddenly his other hand pressed against her shoulder, the joint groaning and almost cracking the wait and the force , nearly crushing her on the ground. His other hand that held her arm on her back pressed her wrist against her spine and placed out his fingers to also touch her armor, then there was metallic click.

Out of the blue her head exploded in fireworks when an electric current shot through her with such intensity that the pain was too actually much to bear, but she was forced to endure it. He immobilized her via the ways he had pressed her to the ground but her body was still arching and twisting the ways it could. Faintly she was aware of someone screaming their lungs out, or was that she?

When the origin of the intense pain was pulled away quickly, she felt her head connect to the ground none to gently. Something sharp etched into her forehead, but as her conscious mind was in shatters she could not comprehend it. The aftermath of the electricity still surged through her causing her muscles to spasm uncontrolled here and there and her heart hammer hard against her ribs. There was a faint smell of burned flesh.

"I'm sorry," a gruff voice said above her, sounding almost apologetic. The words already forgotten as she descended into darkness.

* * *

 _The constant ticking of the clock was maddening. Time seemed to inch by at a snail's pace. Jake sat next to her, his leg was twitching in nervousness and after each 10 seconds he moved to another position. She was too anxious to feel irritated._

 _"What takes him so long," Evelyn finally sighed, meaning the doctor, and looked up at the clock. Another 5 minutes had passed since the last time she had looked._

 _"Guess he is still getting the test results," Jake murmured. "Hey, what if it is.. you know?"_

 _Startled Evelyn snapped at him, harsher than she actually meant to. "Of course not! You are a healthy 22 year old boy, there is no way that you have skin cancer. Those blotches are probably some kind of weird birthmark or something.."_

 _Jake looked down at his feet, folding and twiddling his fingers. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly but not voicing his fear that he obviously had and she shared, though she tried not to show. She had to keep holding on for him._

 _They had lost their parents four years ago now. A car crash was their downfall and ever since then Evelyn had taken up the mantle of caretaker for Jake, with a little help from a distant aunt where they now lived. As an exchange for a roof above their head, food and the like, Evelyn sacrificed each month a large portion of her salary to their aunt. One would think that being in the army was easy money, but alas._

 _Evelyn flew on her feet when a familiar face approached them, releasing Jake's hand. It was set stern, but otherwise unreadable, even for her eyes. They shook hands._

 _"Dr. Hill," she said. Jake followed her example._

 _"Will you two follow me?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _They entered his office, Evelyn was the first to sit down and Jake slowly followed. Unconsciously she leant more towards him and sat at the very edge of her seat. Dr. Hill sat down across from them with his oaken desk in between. He took off his glasses, folding it neatly and gently placed it on the wooden surface._

 _"I want to say it quick and clear," he began. "I'm sorry, Mr. Palmer, but you have skin cancer."_

 _"No-" she whispered. Her stomach sank in her feet._

* * *

It felt like swimming through a thick, dark syrup when Evelyn first reached consciousness. The first sensation she felt was cold. Not the kind that made your hairs raise on end, but the kind that slowly seeped into your pores to eventual settle in your bones. It hurt, but at the same time made her feel hazy.

Something wet was dragged across her face all of a sudden, causing her to flinch slightly and her brows to furrow. The wet thing stopped in its, resting on her forehead. She could feel the drops gliding down her skin and into her hair, was she laying on her back?

The motion then resumed, this time more careful than before. She took a deep and shuddering intake of breath, the friskiness of the air hurting the back of her throat, when it dragged across her jaw and as if it was burned, the thing was pulled away. A hasty pair of footsteps walked away from her, the sound echoing in her head before she was pulled down under again.

* * *

 _"Ev, I'm fine. Really."_

 _Jake looked at her with his hollow eyes that held nothing of their usual glint. His skin was the color of parchment and he was thinner than just a few days ago. It was like she was looking at completely another person than her three year younger brother. Not able to look any longer, Evelyn tore away her gaze and focused on the window instead._

 _He had been in treatment for two years now and they sort off ran out of options. The doctors discovered it was exceptionally aggressive. There were other chemo's and radiation techniques they could try but the salary she got from the army wasn't going to cut it, not even with the help of her aunt. But she had to make it work. She had to._

 _"Jake," she began but was cut off by her brother grasping her hand, forcing her to look at him again. It was meant to be firm, but his hand felt it belonged to a skeleton. His hollow eyes gazed into her own._

 _"I'm fine."_

 _She wasn't sure who he tried to convince more. Her of himself. Instead of going against him, tried to give him more hope._

 _"Jake, listen. There are several other chemo's we can use, ones that are not common but with fairly enough results."_

 _"But we don't have any money-" Now it was Evelyn's turn to cut him off._

 _"Don't worry about that. You are indeed going to be fine. Just please, try to eat something. Anything. I promise these won't make you feel as bad as the one before, alright? You will get better."_

* * *

The second time Evelyn managed to wake from consciousness, she noticed the cold earlier than before. The syrup from where she emerged also felt more fluid-like.. in a manner of speaking. It was less difficult to think.

She clenched her eyes and slowly began to lift the lids, which took more effort than she thought so. The moment bright light hit her retina stars exploded behind her eyes and an intense headache started to pound away at the insides of her skull. Exhaling slowly she lifted an arm that felt like lead but managed to lift it to her temple.

Evelyn did not expect to feel a rough texture instead of her skin. It stung a bit underneath it. Had she hurt her head? She could not remember.

Unaware of time, Evelyn checked out her limbs and started to grow more aware of her surroundings. What she noticed is that everything hurt, not just her head, but almost every single muscle in her body. Some regions were less sensitive but others, but everything seemed to throb. Then Evelyn noticed something beeped really rhythmic next to her, following the beat of her heart. Judging by how it echoed she was in a large room or open space. Where was she?

When she reopened her eyes, she was careful and slowly allowed the bright light to fill her vision. Was this the bright light everyone was talking about? Was she dead or something? No, because then she wouldn't feel pain. Her head did not agree with her, but her instincts made her body act. The beeping next to her increased, the sharpness of its tone hurting her eardrums.

Suddenly the brightness was interrupted by a dark shadow, causing her to squint because now the light around this shadow was more painful.

A hand was pressed on her forehead, large, rough and calloused. For the first time then she felt _hot_. Like her blood was boiling and sweat was pouring out of her pores like lava. Then the hand was gone and the cold settled right back in. But she still felt the handprint on her scorching skin.

The figure spoke to her with deep baritone pitches, but she could not understand him, her or it. It was all a blur. A sharp pain on the inside of her right elbow made her wince, but the pain quickly subsided.

' _What..?_ ' her muddled thoughts managed to produce, before she drifted back down into oblivion.

* * *

 _Breathing through her nose, Evelyn took a picture._

 _It wasn't her normal holiday picture, no it was from a body. Some bureaucrat of whom she hadn't memorized the name stared at her with wide open eyes of fright and had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. The picture was part of the evidence that he was indeed murdered._

 _After shutting the camera program down of her visor, she tapped a few times on the interface of her gauntlet, accessing the radio frequency that she needed to have._

 _"Yes?" A high-pitched male voice snapped._

 _"It's me. Consider the job done."_

 _The man on the other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. "That was.. fast. Do you have evidence?"_

 _"Thought you might ask that, uploading it to you now," she said and tapped on her interface a few more times._

 _The silence that followed stretched on for a short minute. She could hear some murmuring on the background at the other end of the line as she escaped the penthouse through the window, leaving no evidence that could link back to her. She managed to gently climb down, avoiding people wasn't so hard at 2am._

 _"The money is on your bank account by dawn."_

 _"It's been nice doing business with you," she said in a sweet voice and terminated the signal._

 _When she finally got down with her both feet on the ground in an alley she took off her helmet and wiped the sweat of her brow. Getting sick, Evelyn retched and emptied her guts behind one of the many trashcans._

 _At that moment she knew that after this first kill, this first deal, many more would follow._

 _'It's all for Jake,' she thought whilst wiping off her mouth with the back of her hand. 'Everything for Jake,' she tried to convince herself._

* * *

The third time Evelyn woke she felt battered and bruised and her eyes snapped open, the beeping next to her increased. Glancing around her she noticed for the first time that she was in her bottoms, no wonder she was cold. With strength she tore the heart monitor thing of her finger and discovered there were even more wires on her.

Careful with her head Evelyn sat up, taking off the IV that was embedded in the back of her right hand. Hating and cursing how long those needles were she threw her legs across the edge of the stretcher she had been lying on. With the monitor off she did not hear a sound aside the rush of water and the familiar buzzing of computers. Evelyn used this moment to breathe in the cool air and examine herself.

First her head. There was a head wound between her temple and forehead and patched up with some kind of band aid and gauze, stinging when her fingers touched it. Below the wound she felt some swelling of a bruise, her skin was warm and moist of sweat. Her inside felt dizzy, hazed almost, but she could still think. Her hair felt oily and uncombed.

' _I must look like beauty._ '

Second and final thing to examine was her arm and shoulder, both bandaged pretty good. As her fingers ghosted over the texture, the memory of the scent of burnt flesh filled her nostrils. Disgusted Evelyn gently lifted herself off the stretcher and carefully put on some weight on her feet, trying to ignore the many flips her stomach did like it was an Olympic gymnast on its own. Stumbling and feeling like a barely-born foal she dragged herself away from the stretcher towards a cart holding all kinds of needles and bandages. She took a handful of needles, just in case.

Clenching the needles, covered tips pointing down, she took in her surroundings, noting that she was in some kind of cave. Bright construction lights illuminated the place here and there, showing her just a portion of how actually big it was. In the distance she could make out the shapes of the jet-like thing she saw Batman climb into a mere week ago. Time flew.

"Where am I?" Evelyn whispered to herself, almost in awe of the high-tech around her. She was surprised how meek her voice sounded, and how much her throat hurt. "But most importantly, how to get out?"

Dragging her feet she walked towards the wall, almost half collapsing against it due to the tremors in her legs. What was wrong with her? Almost on que she remembered the mind-numbing pain and the intense spasming of her muscles due to the electricity coursing through her body.

' _Damn it,_ ' she cursed.

With a good amount of willpower she pushed herself off the wall, needles still tightly clenched in her hand as she got a look around. In the distance, under a light like it was used to draw a moth to a flame, she could see her armor and suit. Judging by what she could see it looked like it was ready for scrap. There was also no sign of an exit until there was some metallic hissing and an elevator settling down with a bang just ahead of her. Evelyn scurried for cover behind a corner, peeking around it.

A man stepped out of the elevator. He was aged, thin but healthy looking. The top of his head was almost practically bald, but the sides were still thick and dark grey. He had a small mustache and gave her some kind of a butler vibe by the way he carried himself, straight and proper, but the suit he was wearing also played its part. Then he started to walk in her direction.

Evelyn turned and pressed herself against the wall, her heart hammering in her chest like crazy as his footsteps approached her, lighter than she first initially imaged. She tore off the plastic protection from the needles, throwing it on the ground and waited, sweat dripping from her forehead and down her neck.

On the ground she could see his shadow grown and just when his feet were insight another shadow appeared from behind him.. in the shape of the bat. He turned around on his heels, his back to her.

"Ah, master Bruce. Back already?" He spoke with a British accent.

' _Bruce?_ '

"Deadshot did not prove to be a lot of a problem, Alfred. GCPD already has him in custody," the gruff voice of Batman resonated through the cave.

"With how many broken bones..?" The other male apparently called Alfred trailed off. Evelyn could picture the butler quirking up an eyebrow, he seemed just the type.

"How is our patient?" Batman inquired with a softer tone, his heavy footfalls going towards her direction. Evelyn pressed her free hand on her mouth to silence her breathing.

"Last time I checked still out of it. The fever is still raging through her system, but not as bad as before. The antibiotics you have given her yesterday finally seemed to have done its job. I suggest injecting a fever relief to break it so that she can recover. It has been two days now."

Batman walked passed her corner, not suspecting a thing and then the butler. This time Evelyn took her chance.

"Bruce!"

The butler yelped in surprise when her free arm wrapped around his neck in a head lock. She pulled him back and pressed him against her, the needles in her hand hovering above his chest. Batman turned around, his eyes for a split second surprised but then they darkened. He wanted to take a step towards her when-

"Don't MOVE!" Evelyn shouted. Not in her normal powerful voice, but now it cracked and croaked. She swallowed thickly at the pain in the back of it. Guess she really had been the one screaming her lungs out. "Don't move," she repeated. This time softer and lower.

"Don't do anything stupid, Evelyn."

In surprise she almost released the needles, but quickly tightened her fist and stammered a few steps back, dragging the butler along with her.

"How do you know my name? Why am I here?" She growled and let the tips of the needles hover closer towards Alfred's chest. He did not say a thing nor move. She felt that he was tense beneath her, but he stayed calm. Batman's initial fighting response slowly eased away, but he remained tensed. She could see in by the tensing of his jaw.

"Your DNA, among others," he began, but did not reveal much. Evelyn could not help but to look foul, knowing that he meant Gordon. "And you were seriously injured," Batman finished.

"Because of you if I remember correctly," she seethed. An apologetic look she did not expect flashed in his face, but a sternness was also in his eyes.

"You did not surrender-"

"Because I _couldn't_!" She yelled back. Her breathing was getting hard and her head began to swim. Evelyn felt her grip on the butler began to loosen, but she desperately tried to hang on.

"I need to leave. How can I get out," she said after taking a few breaths, fighting back the tears in her eyes and swimming vision. She started to feel incredibly light-headed.

"Miss, you can't leave. You are barely holding yourself together," the butler then whispered unexpectedly. Distracted Evelyn hissed between her teeth.

"You don't know me! I'm fine-"

The butler managed to pry off her arm from around his neck before she could react, but despite that he was fast he was also careful not to hurt her. Alfred took the needles from her, and all this time Evelyn was wondering why she wasn't fighting him. Her body and mind did not work like it normally should.

When she found her knees buckling, Batman rushed in and together they guided her to the ground, where she retched and dry-heaved, leaning heavy on her arms. Since she hadn't eaten, nothing would came out instead of the regular stomach juice.

"I'll get something to soothe the stomach," Alfred muttered, more to himself and Batman than to her. The vigilante nodded silently and the butler rose, striding away quickly. After a few seconds she could hear the elevator doors close and rattle.

Unfazed Batman sat down on his hunches next to her, a cool gauntlet pressed against the back of her neck that made the hairs on her skin raise on end due to the sharp contrast of how she hot actually felt. Evelyn almost tried to shy away from it, instinctual remembering how much pain his touch has caused but she did not have the strength to do so.

Finally after a minute she managed to stop the retching, but her stomach was still churning painfully. Her arms that held her up were shaking of exhaustion. Tears blurred her vision and she could feel the snot almost dripping out of her nose.

"Let's get you back," the man said. His voice firm, gruff but not as hostile as she was used of him.

With the hand still on the back of her neck firm and steady, he helped her onto her feet by hooking his arm underneath hers. Evelyn did her best to stop the shaking and with his help she shuffled back to the stretcher she had been laying on. At that moment she really noticed his strength.

' _Had he been holding back the entire time?_ '

Carefully she sat on the stretcher, the walk feeling like ages, and his hands were gone, then something was pressed in her palm. A gauze. Immediately knowing what to do with it, she slowly wiped the snot from her nose, her stomach still churned and Evelyn took a deep breath. Trying to regulate her breathing.

Batman had turned his back to her, seeming busy and walked away. Evelyn had no time to think about what, because Alfred approached her with a tray in his hands. There were a few slices of toast and some tea that smelled.. odd. He placed it next to her on the stretcher, noticing how she greened when her eyes took in the toast.

"The tea is made from herbs that should soothe you and make you better. The toast is when you have gotten back you appetite, you don't have to eat it straight away," Alfred smiled reassuringly and handed her the tea.

Evelyn did not take it, a sudden distrust for them rising to the surface. Why would she drink anything he would give her? What if she was so sick because of them?

Sensing her doubt, the butler took a spoon and ladled up some of the tea, he took a sip without flinching. "It is not poisoned nor drugged miss."

Slowly Evelyn took the warm glass and a hesitating sip. It was warm, but absolutely disgusting and spat out most of it. Almost on que her stomach started lurching again due to her sudden movement, but the butler would not have it. He took the glass out of her hands and pressed it against her lips.

"Ignore the stomach and the taste. You have to go through with it," he said firmly as if he was talking sternly to child.  
Half choking on it she drank, scrunching up her nose and shivering when it finally downed, but it worked almost instantly. Her stomach cramps seemed to settle and weren't prone to puke out its contents again. With a satisfied hum, Alfred placed the empty glass on the tray next to her and pulled on some vinyl white gloves. It was the alternative for latex and since some humans are prone to be allergic to latex, vinyl is the safer option.

"Now I am going to examine your arm," he explained and took it without her consent. Evelyn felt the urge to pull it out of his grasp, but she didn't.

' _Perhaps they are really helping me._ '

"Why?" She croaked out, her throat also feeling much better after the tea.

"Because it has some mild burns-" Alfred started explain as he slowly took away her bandages. She hissed when he pulled slightly, some of the gauze sticking to the wound. It was pink, healthy looking but with some yellow here and there. The endings of an infection. Burns were prone to infect rather quickly.

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh?"

Evelyn looked away from him and her arm. Hating how it stung when this butler –slash medic?- cleaned the wound with some water, washing out the remaining pus. Instead she found her eyes wandering, looking around, perhaps even searching. She had the unexplainable urge to know where Batman was. It felt like he was going to sneak up on her, attack her from behind. She had to be ready.

"What did you mean, Miss Palmer?"

Alfred's voice pulled her out of the daze and she blinked a few times. She took a breath, stilling the thumping of her heart.

"Why I am here.. why you are patching me up," she summed up, her voice turning soft in volume.

' _Why I am saved.._ '

The butler looked up from cleaning up her wound, his eyes a darkish blue with hues of greyish met her own. He sighed and put on some betadine on the wound before covering it with new gauze and wrapping it up again. He moved to the side and turned to her shoulder.

"Because that is what we do."

"Bullshit. He could have also left me there for GCPD to pick up."

She felt Alfred's hand pause for just a split second but then resumed their work. He lowered the band of her sports bra with no ill intent and started to clean her shoulder the same way he did with her arm.

"You'll have to ask him," he said after a short silence.

"Ï already know that his name is Bruce," she announced. "You said it, and the only Bruce I can think of with the means to invest in all of.. this," she said and gestured around to the equipment. "Is Bruce Wayne."

Alfred did not reply. Not having anything to say, or he did not know _what_ to say.

"You are here, because you are going to work for me," a gruff voice said. Evelyn looked up, her brow furrowing despite the flicker of triumph inside of her. Her hunch was right.

"And why in God's name will _I_ do that?"

The one and only Bruce Wayne walked towards her, his boots heavy on the concrete floor. He did not wear the Batman armor, but instead a skin tight meshed body suit, except being one part like hers, it was a top and a bottom. He seemed broader and more muscled in real life than on TV. The wonders of what a suit could hide.

"Because it will be in both of our benefits and we are helping you. If you would not be of any use to me, you would be rotting in Blackgate," he said and pulled a chair from a nearby desk that held some X-ray photographs (hers?) and sat down in front of her. His bright but stern blue eyes examining her face. They were set hard, unlike the puppy-dog way he did on television. Was that all an act to keep up persona?

"What prevents you from turning on me later? Or kill me? Why would I even help you?" She countered. Dread gnawing on her insides.

Evelyn could see Bruce's gaze darkening just a bit at the mention that she thought that he would kill someone. "I don't kill.. and if I even wanted you dead we wouldn't be sitting here conversing. Plus, if you are going back to the GCPD you are going to be hunted. They want justice and you will have nowhere to hide or go. They will also call you mad if you claim that I am Batman, perhaps with solitary confinement as a result."

"What if I still turn on you?"

His blue eyes took on a hard glint. "Then I will not hesitate to turn you in to the GCPD."

She remained silent, her green eyes locking on his. There was a painful truth in his words. With her plan failed of killing Gordon and giving herself animosity siding with Bruce was one of her only options, instead of dying herself so that nothing could be traced back to her brother.

Alfred murmured that he was all set and done before taking all supplies with him and walking away. Evelyn thanked him and raised back the strap of her sports bra on her shoulder before folding her hands on her lap. This was one turn of events.

' _I'm practically forced to work with him.. the one I want to kill. The irony._ '

"If you help me," Bruce started, his tone less harsh than before. "You will still get the 50 million dollars."

Evelyn felt her heart lurch and she nearly choked on her own saliva. Her eyes gazed at him as he stood up and set the chair down where he got it from. Speechless.

Bruce nodded to the two pieces of toast, still intact on the tray beside her. "Eat. If you are feeling better tomorrow, we are going to work on your melee. It needs some tweaking here and there." With those words he turned around and left her behind on the stretcher, leaving her to try and make sense of her muddled thoughts.

But one thing was clear. For the first time since a long while, Evelyn felt something akin to hope flourish inside of her. That was not was she expected from Batman.


End file.
